H5528 H5528
To act foolishly, behave senselessly; to make foolish, turn to folly
The verb סָכַל covers the terrain of foolishness in both its intransitive and causative dimensions. In its Nifal and Hifil forms, it describes a person who has acted foolishly — the sting of self-indictment that Saul confesses to David: 'I have acted foolishly' (1 Sam 26:21), echoed by David himself after the census (2 Sam 24:10). The Piel stem shifts the agency outward: God 'makes foolish' the counsel of the wise (Isa 44:25), and David prays that Ahithophel's advice be 'turned to folly' (2 Sam 15:31). The Syriac cognate sakkal and Aramaic sekal confirm this as a pan-Semitic root for moral and intellectual folly.
Senses
1. act foolishly (Hifil/Nifal) — The intransitive sense of acting foolishly or behaving senselessly, expressed through the Hifil and Nifal stems. The subject is the one who has done something foolish — a self-assessment that recurs in confessional contexts. Laban accuses Jacob (Gen 31:28), Samuel rebukes Saul (1 Sam 13:13), Saul admits his own folly to David (1 Sam 26:21), and David confesses after the census (2 Sam 24:10; 1 Chr 21:8). Spanish 'has obrado neciamente' ('you have acted foolishly') and 'hice neciamente' ('I acted foolishly') consistently encode the intransitive, self-reflective character of this sense. 6×
AR["أحمَقتُ", "تَحَمَّقْتَ", "تَصَرَّفْتَ-جَهْلًا", "جَهِلْتَ", "جَهِلْتُ", "حَمُقْتُ"]·ben["আপনি-মূর্খতা-করেছেন", "আমি-মূর্খতা-করেছি", "বোকামি-করেছি", "মূর্খতা-করেছ", "মূর্খতা-করেছি"]·DE["[נסכלת]", "[נסכלתי]", "du-handelte-toericht", "hast-du-töricht-gehandelt", "ich-habe-handelte-toericht", "ich-handelte-toericht"]·EN["I-acted-foolishly", "I-have-acted-foolishly", "you-acted-foolishly", "you-have-acted-foolishly"]·FR["[נסכלת]", "[נסכלתי]", "je-agit-foolishly", "je-ai-agit-foolishly", "tu-agit-foolishly", "tu-avoir-acted-foolishly"]·heb["הסכלת", "הסכלתי", "ניסכלתי", "נסכלת", "נסכלתי"]·HI["मूर्खता-की-तूने", "मूर्खता-की-मैंने", "मूर्खता-की-है", "मूर्खता-की-है-तूने", "मैंने-मूर्खता-की"]·ID["Engkau-telah-berlaku-bodoh", "aku-berbuat-bodoh", "aku-bertindak-bodoh", "engkau-bertindak-bodoh"]·IT["[נסכלת]", "[נסכלתי]", "io-agì-stoltamente", "io-avere-agì-stoltamente", "tu-agì-stoltamente", "tu-avere-agì-foolishly"]·jav["kawula-sampun-tumindak-bodho", "kula-bodho", "kula-tumindak-bodho", "panjenengan-nindakaken-bodho", "panjenengan-nindakaken-kanthi-bodho", "panjenengan-tumindak-bodho"]·KO["내가어리석게행하여", "어리석게-했다-너는", "어리석게-행하였다", "어리석게-행했다-나는", "어리석었다-나는", "어리석었다-너는"]·PT["agi-tolamente", "agiste-loucamente", "agiste-tolamente", "fui-tolo"]·RU["безумствовал-я", "глупо-поступил-ты", "поглупел-ты", "поступил-глупо", "поступил-глупо-ты"]·ES["Has-obrado-neciamente", "actuaste-neciamente", "hice-neciamente", "neciamente-hiciste", "obré-neciamente"]·SW["nimefanya-kijinga", "nimefanya-upumbavu", "nimetenda-kwa-upumbavu", "umefanya-kijinga", "umetenda-kwa-upumbavu", "umetenda-upumbavu"]·TR["Aptallık-ettin", "akılsızca-davrandım", "akılsızca-davrandın", "aptallık-ettim", "aptallık-ettin"]·urd["بیوقوفی-کی-تُو-نے", "بےوقوفی-کی-میں-نے", "تُو-نے-بے-وقوفی-کی", "تُو-نے-حماقت-کی", "حماقت-کی-میں-نے", "میں-نے-بےوقوفی-کی"]
2. make foolish, turn to folly (Piel) — The causative Piel sense of making someone or something foolish, rendering counsel senseless, or turning wisdom to folly. Only two occurrences attest this transitive meaning: David's prayer that the LORD 'make foolish' Ahithophel's counsel (2 Sam 15:31), and Isaiah 44:25 where God frustrates diviners and 'makes their knowledge foolish.' The shift from intransitive experience to active causation is confirmed by the transitive syntax — the subject acts upon another's wisdom or advice — and by Spanish 'enloquece' ('he drives mad'). 2×
AR["حَمِّق-", "يُحَمِّقُ"]·ben["ব্যর্থ-করো-", "মূর্খ-করি"]·DE["[ישכל]", "mache-toericht"]·EN["He-makes-foolish", "make-foolish"]·FR["[ישכל]", "fais-insensé"]·heb["ישכל", "סכל"]·HI["मूर्ख-बना", "मूर्खता-बनाता-है"]·ID["Ia-membuat-bodoh", "buatlah-bodoh"]·IT["[ישכל]", "fa-stolto"]·jav["Panjenenganipun-ndadosaken-bodho", "ndamelna-bodho-"]·KO["미련하게-하소서-", "어리석게-만드는"]·PT["torna-louca", "torna-tolo"]·RU["обрати-в-глупость-", "оглупляющий"]·ES["enloquece"]·SW["anayafanya-upuuzi", "geuza-kuwa-upumbavu"]·TR["ahmaklaştır-", "aptalliga-ceviren"]·urd["بیوقوفی-بنانے-والا", "بے-وقوفی-بنا"]
Related Senses
H3045 1. Qal: to know, perceive, understand (829×)H5315 1. soul, inner being (647×)H3820a 1. heart, inner self (mind/will/emotion) (572×)H4672 1. Qal: find, discover (289×)G1492 1. know facts or truths (285×)H3824 1. heart, inner self (mind/will/emotion) (250×)H1245 1. seek, search for (200×)G1097 1. know, be acquainted with (196×)H2142 1. Qal: remember, recall (173×)G2588 1. heart (inner self, mind, will) (158×)H0977 1. choose, select (Qal active) (145×)G2147 1. find, discover (144×)G5590 1. soul, inner self (100×)H4672 2. Niphal: be found, be discovered (99×)H1875 1. seek, search for (96×)H5315 2. life, vitality (94×)H1847 1. knowledge, discernment (90×)H2450 1. wise, prudent (84×)H7911 1. Qal: to forget (83×)H3684 1. fool, dullard (70×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† [סָכַל] vb. be foolish, or a fool, usually in moral or spiritual sense (Syriac ܣܟܰܠ,, Aph. act foolishly; ܣܰܟܠܴܐ foolish, etc., 𝔗 סְכַל der. species, act foolishly; סַכְלָא fool; Chr Pal Aramaic ܣܟܠ, Aph. = ἁμαρτάνω, also deriv. SchwallyIdiot. 62; Assyrian saklu, perhaps foolish, DlHWB 498; Aramaic ܣܟܰܠ, סְכַל know, be intelligent, cause to understand, etc. (der. species), cf. שׂכל; MeChrest.…